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Bhutan: The Himalayan Kingdom --This illustrated guide by Passport Books covers every detail of the history and culture of one of the most isolated countries in the world. Monasteries, villages, farms, and scattered cities comprise a country little affected by developments elsewhere. This completely revised edition includes more practical trip-planning information to help pave the way for a trip that is well worth the effort. $19.95
Also by Passport:
Pakistan: At the Crossroads of Asia
Nepal: The Mountain Kingdom Each $16.95
NEW Bhutan Odyssey Passport Guide--This informative book is one of only a handful on this small Himalayan kingdom and well-kept secret. Francoise Pommaret introduces you to its long history, rich culture and the deep fear of foreign intrusion that prevents it from going the way of its increasingly commercial neighbors. Color photographs and literary excerpts help provide a glimpse of life in Bhutan, a Buddhist culture carefully preserved and a land magical in its beauty. The author guides you to sacred sights and natural wonders, and good maps lead the way toward enlightenment. $19.95
Cadogan South India --Southern India contains a wealth of attractions usually only hinted at in guidebooks: game parks and tiger sanctuaries, beautiful beaches, hard-to-find temples and palaces, and wonderful local festivals. Authors Frank Kusy and Rupert Isaacson guide you to all of these and more in their new guide. In addition they recommend hotels, restaurants and markets, provide helpful tips on transportation, red tape and bargaining techniques, and provide detailed historical and cultural background. $19.95
Culture Shock! India --A delightful guide to the culture, daily life and customs of the Indian people. Chapters on etiquette, language, festivals, religion and all other aspects of life make this book indispensable for the traveller who wants to immerse themselves in the Indian experience $12.95
Globetrotter Guide to the Maldives --This compact guide provides an overview of all the islands, with concise descriptions of the sights and articles on the history and people. Good maps and recommended itineraries make this particularly helpful for planning a trip. $10.95
Also: Each $10.95
Globetrotter Guide to Goa and Bombay $10.95
Goa Footprint Handbook --An excellent, detailed guide to everything to see and do in and around Goa, from beaches to temples to nature-watching. An emphasis on outdoor activities and voluminous practical information for the independent traveller make this compact cloth guide extremely helpful. $17.95
Guide to the Maldives --Royston Ellis and Bradt Publications have produced a good general guide filled with practical travel advice for the independent, adventurous traveller. It offers an overview of the islands, detailed sightseeing and itinerary suggestions, hotel and restaurant recommendations, and a wealth of information on outdoor activities, as well as lots of maps $16.95
India By Rail --Royston Ellis and Bradt Publications collaborate again to create the only guide to travelling by train throughout India, from the most budget choices to the luxury trains of the Raj. Ellis covers everything you need to know, including routes, ticket information, sights off the train and tips on dealing with red tape. $16.95
India Footprint Handbook 1998 --This cloth-bound guide provides you with encyclopedic information on transportation, sights, hotels, restaurants, shops and much more. Historical and cultural background, itineraries, maps and information on outdoor activities of all kinds will have you exploring the heart of India in no time. $29.95
Also:
Pakistan Footprint Handbook $21.95
Insight Delhi, Jaipur, Agra --Superbly illustrated with maps and color photographs and narrated in an easy conversational style, this guide introduces you to the region's history, culture and geography and provides you with a good sense of place. It is also helpful in planning an itinerary. $22.95
| Insight Calcutta $21.95 | Insight India's West Himalayas $21.95 |
| Insight India $22.95 | Insight Rajasthan $21.95 |
| Insight Indian Wildlife $21.95 | Insight South India $22.95 |
Knopf Guide to India: Rajasthan --Over 2000 color drawings, photographs, art reproductions and architectural renderings complement detailed descriptions of the region's history and culture. The sheer wealth of information, presented with great flair and color, will delight active and armchair travellers alike. $25.00
Leh and Trekking in Ladakh --One of the few guides to trekking in this remote northern-most region of India. The author describes and maps treks of varying lengths and difficulty, and provides some practical information on health, safety and trip-planning. $14.95
Let's Go India & Nepal 1998 --The guide for students and backpackers by students and backpackers. It provides an overview of all the regions and their sights, as well as budget accommodation, restaurant, nightlife and transportation information. Not nearly as detailed as Lonely Planet, but perfect for the college set on a tour of the top areas. $19.99
Lonely Planet India --Another exceptional book in this adventurous series, Geoff Crowther's guide provides comprehensive sightseeing information for the whole country, with an emphasis on off-the-beaten path destinations and both cultural and outdoor activities. He also provides budget to moderate restaurant and accommodation recommendations, practical information geared toward the independent traveller and over 200 maps. No other guide offers so much honest and realistic advice. $25.95
Also:
Lonely Planet Goa $14.95
Lonely Planet Maldives $14.95
Lonely Planet New Delhi $9.95
Lonely Planet Tibet $14.95
Lonely Planet Indian Himalaya --This book by Margaret and Rolf Schettler is still the only guide exclusively covering the remote areas of Ladakh, Zanskar and the Indian Himalayas. It tells you everything you need to know about travel around the region, and ensures that you won't miss a thing, no matter how off the beaten path. $17.95
Lonely Planet Rajasthan --Increasingly popular with intrepid travellers but still unspoiled, Rajasthan is easy to explore with this new guide in hand. Michelle Coxall and Sarina Singh lead you to all the off-the-tourist-path sights and delve deeply into the rich culture, history and nature of this area, including Delhi and Agra. Extensive practical advice, lodging and food recommendations and great maps make this guide indispensable for the independent traveller. $15.95
Lonely Planet Trekking in the Indian Himalaya --An excellent accompaniment to any walking or trekking trip, this guides provides mapped treks and a wealth of practical planning advice. Garry Weare covers everything from health and safety to what to pack and how to train. He provides details on what you will see along the way, and even includes language tips. $17.95
Louise Nicholson's India Companion --Louise Nicholson has finally updated her classic guide to India, formerly titled India in Luxury. This new edition has been expanded to cover even more destinations throughout the country, and additional information has been added on cultural traditions and local crafts. As always, Nicholson provides helpful itinerary suggestions that guide you to all the top sights, and guides you to only the best hotels and restaurants,. We welcome back her invaluable travel advice. $19.95
Nepal Handbook --Kerry Moran has updated her terrific guide for Moon Publications that emphasizes many out-of-the-way spots often overlooked in other books. She includes detailed practical advice on everything from planning your trip, to transportation, health and safety, to trekking and elephant safaris. Accommodations for all budgets, a serious shopping section that serves as an introduction to Nepal's arts and crafts, and 50 maps round out this excellent guide. $18.95
Rough Guide Goa --Yet another new guide to the hottest resort area in South Asia. Part of the popular British Rough Guide series, it offers detailed sightseeing, practical budget-oriented information on where to stay and how to get around, and lots of advice on outdoor activities. $14.95
Also:
Rough Guide India $23.95
Trekking in Nepal --Whether you are going on your own or with a guided group, Stephen Bezruchka is an indispensable companion. The first hundred pages of his newly updated guide give all the necessary information from health care to language to trekking with children. The rest of the book is made up of detailed routes with maps, including some new additions in the Everest region. $18.95
Lonely Planet Hindi/Urdu Phrasebook $2.95
Lonely Planet Nepali Phrasebook $5.95
Lonely Planet Tibetan Phrasebook $4.95
Annapurna: A Woman’s Place--In 1978, a team of 13 women became the first Americans to reach the summit of Annapurna I, at 26,540 feet the tenth highest peak in the world. Arlene Blum, the leader of the expedition, recounts the story of this historic achievement in her wonderful book, reissued this year for the 20th anniversary of the ascent. Blum’s clear, engrossing prose takes the reader from the early planning stages to the successful climb itself. The challenges faced by Blum and her team went beyond altitude, exposure, avalanches and exhaustion. The team encountered resistance to even the concept of women attempting such a dangerous climb. $16.00
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City of Djinns --William Dalrymple paints a fascinating portrait of his year in the ancient Indian capital of Delhi. The reader is swept along as he describes everything from the city's architecture to a wide array of its inhabitants to the myth of the creation of Delhi contained in the Indian epic Mahabbarata. Dalrymple's knowledge of India's history and culture, along with his wonderful sense of humor, make this book a joy to read. Note: this book has unfortunately just gone out of print. Try your local library-it's worth it.
In the Himalayas: Journeys Through Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan --Jeremy Bernstein has spent much of the last 30 years traveling in Nepal and the Himalayas. He shares his tremendous knowledge of Nepalese and Tibetan history and his many travel stories in this recent edition, which includes Bhutan. Bernstein, then a writer for the New Yorker, was lucky enough to be in Kathmandu in the mid-sixties during the heyday of the Royal Hotel, and to meet many of its famous (and infamous) occupants. His stories from that period, as well as from more recent trips, make for informative and tantalizing reading. $14.95
India: A Million Mutinies Now --Raised in Trinidad of Indian descent, V.S. Naipaul returned to his ancestral country as an adult to make peace with it and his family's past. Part personal memoir and part historical and political commentary, this powerful book should be read by anyone going to India. $14.95.
Indian Art: A Concise History --Roy Craven's book is a wonderfully digestible guide to the complex art of India. He discusses its history, development and techniques, and illustrates his points with both color and black and white photographs. Whether you are a novice or an expert, this book is a wonderful introduction to Indian culture. $12.95
A Jewel in the Crown: The Raj Quartet, Volume 1 --For those of you who missed the PBS series some years ago, here is the first volume in Paul Scott's exquisite fictional series about the British Raj, and their aristocratic way of life. $11.00
Shopping For Buddhas --While living in Kathmandu in the late 1980's, Jeff Greenwald decides that if he could just find the perfect Buddha statue he would not only discover the true meaning of life, but he would also find the inspiration to finish the novel he's been trying to write for years. During his search he immerses himself in some core Buddhist teachings but in the end learns that enlightenment can be hard to find... Part of the Lonely Planet Journeys series, this book is witty, enjoyable and yes, even a little enlightening. $10.95
The Snow Leopard --Peter Matthiessen's classic memoir is back in print. It is the story of his five-week trek through the Nepalese Himalayas in the dead of winter in search of the rare snow leopard and the ancient Buddhist shrine on Crystal Mountain. A true wonder. $12.95
So Close to Heaven --Barbara Crossette, a frequent contributor to the New York Times, explores the "vanishing kingdoms of the Himalayas" in this beautifully written new book. As she travels through Tibet, Sikkim, Ladakh and Bhutan, Crossette introduces us to religious lamas, separatist guerrillas, shrine plunderers, and modern reformers, and brings her exceptional knowledge and understanding to bear on this extraordinary culture that (except for in Bhutan) is close to disappearing. $13.00
Swimming Lessons And Other Stories --Rohinton Mistry has been compared to V.S. Naipaul and other great writers, and it is easy to see why. These compelling short stories portray the lives of the inhabitants of a Bombay apartment building, and bring their rich, complex characters into sharp focus. $12.00
A Traveller's History of India --Sinharaja Tammita-Delgoda provides a concise, readable history of India, from ancient times through colonial rule and independence, right up to the present. It is ideal reading for the traveller who wants to be well-informed but does not want a textbook. $14.95
Travellers' Tales: India --Editors, James O'Reilly and Larry Habegger have collected writings by more than 45 well-known authors in this informative and extremely enjoyable travel anthology. Rory Nugent, Madhur Jaffrey, Salman Rushdie, Norman Lewis, Shiva Naipaul, William Dalrymple and many others share their experiences, impressions and insights about travelling through India, and the results will surprise and delight both active and armchair travellers. $17.95
NEW Travels With My Elephant--This is a lovely memoir recounting explorer and travel writer Mark Shand’s journey across India on his newly purchased elephant, Tara. Shand has a gift for pulling the reader into his story--we wince at every misstep along his road to becoming a mahout, elephant master, and become, like him, terribly attached to Tara. There is real tension as Shand and his entourage reach their final destination, the elephant market at Bihar, and he must decide Tara’s fate. This engaging travelogue makes for great reading, imparting the flavor of India past and present with humor and grace. Color photographs complement the text. $16.95
Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Secret Exploration of Tibet --For nineteenth century adventurers Tibet was the prize destination, and determined travellers from Britain, Russia and elsewhere tried to be the first to enter and control Lhasa, its capital city. Peter Hopkirk explores this chapter of the Great Race, describing the lively characters involved and all the covert activities and disastrous events that mark this period of exploration. His account brings us right up to the Chinese invasion and annexation of Tibet in the 1950's and reads like a suspense thriller. $14.00
The Waiting Land --Dervla Murphy, one of our favorite writers, went to Nepal in 1965 to work at a Tibetan refugee camp. She travelled all over Nepal by bike (Leo, successor to Roz of Ireland to India fame) and foot, and here in journal form describes the Nepalese people and their country, and the unexpected events and friendships she encountered at every turn. Murphy writes with such a wonderful sense of understatement and intimacy that you feel as if she is regaling you with her adventures in person. $13.95